Last Lecture 2

I was sitting with a group of men talking a week ago and someone said "Wouldn't it be cool if we wrote down our prayers so that our kids could read them sometime in the future?" It made me think of some letters my Grandfather wrote to my Grandmother during their time away as she went back to her hometown doctor (whom she trusted more than their local doctor) to give birth to my father. The letters just take me back to a time that I can only imagine because it is so much different than today - but it is inspiring to read his words. Inspiring because his feelings are real and they remind me so much of the love that I saw years later when Grandma needed lots of care - and there was Grandpa. And he still had plenty of love to shower on me too!

I am still thinking about the last lecture because we all have a chance to pour out our feelings over time - but part of me is kind of envious of Randy Pausch because of his focused eloquence and passion. He knows what he has to do and he is doing it. Can we do the same thing without knowing the end is near?

I think we can. My friend said it well when he talked about writing it down. I know someone else who writes a letter to her daughter at the end of every year to review the year - the ups, the downs, the memories. I think that is cool.

But I want to do more. I started a habit several years ago where I record 'emotional' moments with my children by writing them a letter about the event. What happened, how I felt, and what I want them to remember from it (why it was special to me). My only rule is that I cannot share any feeling on paper that I do not express to them face to face. Someday I look forward to sharing the letters . . . but today I rejoice in sharing the feelings.